


Just a man of Caelin

by Fiannalover



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi | Fire Emblem: Binding Blade, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Genre: Gen, In-Between Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 07:58:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19848901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiannalover/pseuds/Fiannalover
Summary: Everyone else left, for their own lives and loves. Now, only one of them waited at Caelin.





	Just a man of Caelin

The day had arrived for Caelin to be no more.

Wil didn’t know if the fight that the nobles put up over Lyn’s decision to abdicate Caelin was too big, or too small. On one hand, most of them didn’t like his Lady much. On the other, they didn’t want to risk losing power and influence, obviously. But the negotiations went by much faster when Hector showed up personally.

If that happened due to intimidation or charisma from the Ostian Lord, Wil hadn’t the faintest idea.

Sain had already broken into overlydramatic sobbing while saying his goodbyes, on an attempt to keep the sad situation a bit more joyful. Kent was much more professional in his farewell, although a tear still rolled down his cheek. And for him…

“You don’t have to stay, Wil.” She said, as if somewhat attempting to comfort him over some sort of doubt. “I’m sure Eliwood would happily give you some employment in Pherae. You could even return home, at last.”

“I know, Lady Lyndis.” Kent’s attempts to drill her proper name and title never really stuck, specially as said Lady insisted there was no real need to refer to her that way, but by now, for the two of them, it was more of an affectionate nickname than anything else. “But I’m not just loyal to you now. I’m loyal to Caelin. This is my home now. And I’ll visit my parents again. I promised you that.”

A serene smile graced her face as she heard these words, and she silently turned over to walk towards her beloved, only to be stopped as she felt a hand grip her arm. Looking at the person responsible for that, the man sheepishly added. “S-sorry for holding you from leaving like that! But… Do you think there is a chance you could write to me?”

The smile turned from a small, serene one to a more open one, that looked forward to what the future would bring. “Yes. Of course I will! As soon as we reach one of the major towns, I’ll send a messenger to Caelin. And you better write back!”

This time, she pulled in her friend for one last hug before she left. Breaking the contact, she went towards her loved one’s Pegasus, and got up on it, holding tight to Florina in order to not fall, an action that never failed to make the Pegasus Knight blush, even after all this time. Holding Huey’s reins, the Ilian ordered him to fly, with both of the women on top of him waving goodbye to their friends as they left.

They were gone. Away from Caelin.

… More importantly, he decided, they were happy.

* * *

By the time the first letter arrived, he was the only one left.

Kent had left for Ilia alongside one of Florina’s sisters. Sain went off to become some sort of wandering knight, although Wil was pretty sure he’d come back time and time again in-between his adventures. So, that was it. He was now the last man of Caelin.

… No, not the last. Just the last one of the Lyndis Legion. The five of them, by themselves, weren’t Caelin. He shouldn’t think of them as such. But… There was some sadness, being the only one left.

It wasn’t even only their absence that felt saddening…

What was even the point of thinking of that? He had work to do. Plenty, even.

* * *

“Alright everybody! As instructed! Check which of your eyes is the dominant one, and hold your bow accordingly!”

Wil’s instructions reached the new recruits’ years, all of which prepared themselves.

“Now, ready, aim… Fire!”

The archers that would integrate Caelin’s army set off their volley of arrows, hitting the targets in several different levels of accuracy. But they all hit. That’s, by itself, was great news.

With the friendly smile that the recruits had grown used to seeing, Wil went forward to give personal instructions to each of them.

He was just a soldier, but now he spent most of his time here teaching. The army recovered slowly after Darin’s attack, so helping wherever he could, like this, was good.

* * *

“I-I’m sorry? I’m what?”

Whatever polite formality Wil still had around Lord Hector vanished when said man gave him a promotion during one of his visits. A beard started growing on his face, which, alongside his strong build, made him look even older than his actual age. But it suited him, that is for sure.

“I’m making you the Commander of Caelin’s Archer Division.” He repeated without hesitation. “Caelin’s forces developed a sizable and respectable amount of Archers in the last couple of years. And I know, for a fact, that it’s due to your training of the new recruits. So, you’re the best option for the role, now that this is big enough to NEED a proper Commander.”

Wil took these news in with surprise. He didn’t think he had done that much, truly. He just took in any and all recruits who showed interest in the bow. But, it is true that the number of soldiers skilled at that increased a lot with him helping.

He was responsible for them. For all the soldiers he trained, drank and laughed with.

“Very well. I accept the position, Lord Hector!”

Hector left a sigh of relief and exhaustion, having one less thing to worry about. “Wil, before you leave, tell me. Why are you still working so much here?”

With a smile on his face, he replied. “I’m just a man of Caelin. That’s all.”

He noticed his possible slip too late. “Ostia. I’m just a man of Ostia.”

The marquess let out a huff and gestured him to not worry. “You’ve got your loyalty in the right place, and no one has any complaints about that. Now, that’s all I had to talk about with you, Wil. You may leave if you want.”

The Commander nodded, and headed for the door. As he opened it and exited the room, he said. “You’re growing into your role as Marquess very well, Lord Hector. It’s nice to see.”

Another sigh of resignation from the Lord was all he got as a response before he closed the door.

* * *

At some moment, Wil got himself a horse.

He spent too much effort learning how to ride one in order to just let those skills fade. He’d just have wasted time if he did so. Both his own, and someone else’s…

So, he started practicing again. At first, he and his steed stumbled a bit, but he was back into top shape before long. He wondered, as he ran atop his mount, how it felt for him when he did this accross the Sacaean Plains. How did it feel like for her, too.

When people asked where he learned to do such a thing, Wil answered. “I learned from a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.”

* * *

To think five years had already gone by, Wil thought as he saw Rebecca hold her son.

Of course he took a break to visit Pherae when he heard the news. Meeting his parents once again, catching up with Dan, Rebecca and Lowen, meeting the child he would forever insist was his nephew, Wil made the most of the trip.

Even if…

“Come on now! Say ‘Uncle Wil’”

Wolt answered only by cooing a bit from his mother’s arms, sticking out his own to attempt to grab this new man that just showed up in his life. “Come on now, Wil. You know he doesn’t even speak my own name or Lowen’s yet.”

“Yes, I know, but didn’t hurt to try, did it? My name is simpler, too!” He cheerfully replied, before taking a more serious tone. “Has Lord Eliwood been well?”

Having her own face a bit more solemn, Rebecca answered. “As well as he can be. For now, he’s still mourning a fair bit. I’m feeding Roy as well as Wolt now. But we are all gonna be fine. I’m sure.”

Nodding, he put a smile on as he looked at Wolt once more. “You’re hearing that? You’re Roy’s brother now! So make sure you help him as much as Rebecca helps Lord Eliwood, ok?”

Another clueless noise from the baby was the only answer he got. But it helped them all cheer up, that is for sure.

* * *

The years kept going on and on, and stories from here and there popped up. How an orphanage opened at Araphen, how Sain came back every once in a while, how he found out, through Lyn’s letters, about Rath’s return to his tribe, and Kent working with Fiora.

Plenty of people went on with their lives, alongside their beloved companions.

He wasn’t one of these. He had his own fair share of romances, but not one lasted.

… Not that he minded that, by now. He was one of Caelin’s Commanders. He loved the people and the land, and they loved him back. With that alone, he was more than content.

* * *

Visits to Pherae happened oftenly, with they being split with more visits to Ostia once Wolt went alongside Roy to study there. Wil never failed at making sure he’d have something for the three kids, as Lilina unfailingly completed a trio with the two boys.

It was nice to see. And he never tired of listening to them ask him for help or anything eles, with his nephew being the one that was the most likely to do that.

They were just kids. And watching them grow up never got tiring.

* * *

When the war broke out, Wil wasn’t in Araphen. He was at Caelin.

Once Roy freed Ostia, he was one of the first to run to Lilina’s side, as they were called forth by Eliwood to discuss what they would do next.

Alongside the Pheraen, he was one of the few who watched her mask crack as the tears began to fall.

* * *

“Have you been holding well, Wolt?”

“Yes, I have, Uncle Wil.” The green-haired boy replied. The hair’s color was exactly like Rebecca, but the hairstyle was almost exactly like his own, with most people coming to a silent conclusion behind why it was like that. “I… Can I ask you something, though?”

Wil readied himself for whatever Wolt asked him in this little spot of peace and rest they had, before they had to go separate way once again. “Sure! Go ahead.”

Taking a deep breath, he asked. “Have you ever been in love?”

The question took Wil by surprise, but pleasantly so. He expected something about fighting and the war, but… Wolt was still young, after all. It was good to see him worry about this. “Yes, I have.”

“Really? How was it like? With who?”

A nostalgic smile came to his face as he reminisced. “In one case, it was back when I traveled with your mother, father, Lord Eliwood and Hector, we met a bowman from Sacae.” He said. “He fought on horseback, and thaught me to do so, when I asked him to do so. He even promised, on Mother Earth and Father Sky, to only leave my side when I truly mastered it.”

“And… What happened to him?” Wolt asked, a light blush coming to his cheeks.

“He fulfilled his promise. When I finished training, he left before long, and never knew how happy he made me.” Wil said, watching Wolt deflate a bit. “So, if you feel like it is the real deal, you should go after it.”

Watching as Wolt still seemed a bit unsure, he prodded. “Who is it?”

Wolt didn’t answer, but he noticed that, just before he asked, he was staring just a bit at some direction. Following the boy’s gaze, he saw a sacaean woman with familiar clothes talking to Roy.

Huh. Figures.

* * *

When Roy went to Ilia, Wil was part of the army that went to Sacae instead.

The land felt familiar, oddly enough. He only set foot on small bits of it, but the tales he heard guided him. From the stories his Lady told him, he knew how the plains worked, even if just a bit. So he guided himself through the place, his mount galloping through the plains with nearly as much ease as the locals.

Another town was safe, and he ran around helping it’s inhabitants. Some of the nomads went back to it, now that they could do só. Helping they get settled down again, he saw her.

She wasn’t like before. Her two swords remained with her, but her face was older, just like his own. A rumor or two were there of a dual-wielding lady and her pagasus knight running through soldiers who tried to stop them, but Wil didn’t think he’d actually see them.

Even with the Sol Katti and the Mani Katti, two women alone wouldn’t win the war. But they were here. They were alive.

He didn’t waste time to run to them the moment they saw each other. Nor did Lyn and Florina hesitate to hug him as he got close. They were together, once again.

“I got really worried when I stopped receiving your letters.”

“I can say the same for you, Wil.”

Some silence followed, before the archer offered. “You could stop by Caelin, once this war is over. Kent and Sain aren’t there, but… Caelin has always waited for you. In case you’d ever want to stop by, Lady Lyndis.”

“Yes… I believe I’d like to do so.”

She was no longer his liege. But it didn’t matter. She was still his closest friend, after all these years, and the one he swore loyalty too.

He always looked forward to the day they’d see each other again. And it felt just like old days.


End file.
